


A Distant Lullaby

by Ellemae



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: Drunkenness, F/F, Gluttony, Swan Queen Week, Swan Queen Week 2015
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-07-13
Updated: 2015-07-13
Packaged: 2018-04-09 04:30:42
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,367
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4333949
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ellemae/pseuds/Ellemae
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Ruby calls Emma to the diner, because who else do you call when a former Evil Queen is drunk and lonely?</p>
            </blockquote>





	A Distant Lullaby

**Author's Note:**

> SQ Week, Day 1: Bed Sharing

Emma smirks, because Regina Mills is gloriously drunk.  
  
She's surprising like this...soft-spoken slurs, and quiet giggles, and Emma wonders if this is what she could have been.  
  
Before death, and magic, and power.  
  
Before she lost her innocence to herself.  
  
Before she was the Evil Queen.  
  
Emma watches from the doorway for a while, but eventually Ruby raises a questioning eyebrow.  
  
And she knows Ruby called her for a reason.  
  
"Hi Regina," she says, hands firmly in her pockets.  
  
"Em-ma," Regina proclaims, as though it's a great effort.  
  
But then she offers Emma a joyous smile, and Emma swallows hard.  
  
Regina's staring at her through bleary eyes, seemingly lost in thought.  
  
And Emma wonders if she's thinking about Robin and Marian and if that's why she got so drunk.  
  
Emma wonders if she still hates her.  
  
But then Regina's leaning precariously to the side.  
  
Emma takes her hand out of her pocket to steady her, and the skin on Regina's arm feels smooth.  
  
"Time to go," Emma encourages, removing her hand from Regina's arm when she realizes it's still comfortably resting there.  
  
Regina shakes her head, "'M hungry," she states quietly.  
  
Suddenly Emma remembers Ruby is there, as she seemingly pops up out of nowhere.  
  
"Grill's still hot, I can make you something Regina," Ruby twirls her hair and bats her eyelashes, and Emma glares at her because seriously, she's flirting now.  
  
At least Regina seems clueless, requesting a hamburger and then drunkenly slumping forward against the table.  
  
"Hey there," Emma rests a hand on Regina's back, and she doesn't know why she's touching her so much. "You okay?"  
  
She's pretty sure Regina mumbles in the affirmative from her position with her head pressed against the diner table.  
  
Emma starts to stroke her hand down Regina's back without thinking about it, and she can feel some of the tension draining away.  
  
And then Ruby's back: "I brought you one too," she nods at Emma.  
  
Okay, so Ruby's not all bad.  
  
Regina struggles upright, clearly motivated by the food.  
  
Ruby has given them both burgers and fries, and Regina seems thrilled.  
  
She doesn't think she's ever seen Regina eat a hamburger, but she attacks it with gusto now.  
  
"Soo good," Regina mumbles with her mouth full.  
  
Miss Manners herself here, Emma thinks, rolling her eyes.  
  
Emma's always thought of herself as a speedy eater, but Regina's cleared her plate before Emma's halfway through her fries.  
  
She looks closer, suddenly wondering how much she's been eating, and Regina does look thin, thinner than normally, her cheeks slightly sunken.  
  
Well, damn.  
  
Regina is jealously eyeing Emma's fries, and without thinking twice she dumps them onto Regina's plate.  
  
Who literally scarfs them down.  
  
And then they sit in silence, Regina seemingly content now. Her mouth, shiny with grease, slack in a way that betrays the large quantities of alcohol she's imbibed.  
  
"Do you want anything else?"  
  
And Regina blushes and looks downward, fiddling with her hands.  
  
And Emma wonders if the burger has sobered her up a bit.  
  
Regina glances up at her shyly. "Milkshake?" She asks in the softest voice, like a child who expects retribution.  
  
Definitely not sober.  
  
Ah, so maybe this is about trying all of Henry's favorite foods.  
  
How are Henry and Regina anyway?  
  
She realizes with a sinking heart that she has no idea.  
  
No idea who, if anyone, Regina spends time with now that Robin has left her.  
  
And, okay, a milkshake on a stomach filled with liquor is probably the worst idea ever.  
  
But the way she asked.  
  
"Of course you can have one."  
  
And Emma orders from Ruby, glaring at her in such a way that suggests this is not an option.  
  
Which is probably why Ruby slams a large milkshake on the table minutes later.  
  
Emma knows it's past closing, is sure that Ruby wants to leave, but her only concern is Regina.  
  
Regina has slumped back in the booth now, head lolling to one side and eyes unfocused.  
  
Emma unwraps a straw for her, sliding it into the frothy mixture, before turning to Regina.  
  
Regina is looking at the milkshake with a faint interest though she's made no attempt to move.  
  
Emma holds the milkshake out, and Regina doesn't even try to take it, instead sloppily chasing the straw with her mouth.  
  
Eventually she succeeds, and takes a long slow slurp that does something to Emma's insides.  
  
She continues to suck eagerly, pausing occasionally to take deep gasping breaths.  
  
"Good?" Emma asks with a slight chuckle.  
  
Regina stops, eyes focused on Emma for a brief second, perhaps in acknowledgment of her voice, and then she's hungrily drinking once more.  
  
When the metal cup is empty Emma places it on the table, shaking her cold hand.  
  
And Regina slumps against her, her head somehow landing on Emma's shoulder.  
  
They sit in silence.  
  
Then Regina groans.  
  
Emma looks her over.  
  
Sees her belly protruding through her tight pencil skirt.  
  
Emma rests a hand on it, and Regina  does nothing.  
  
So Emma rubs gentle circles, knowing how uncomfortably full Regina must be.  
  
The older woman offers a drunken hum of approval, leaning more heavily against Emma's side.  
  
"Okay, Regina," Emma says, "it's time to go."  
  
Regina doesn't move, in fact Emma's pretty sure she's falling asleep.  
  
 "Regina," she says a bit louder.  
  
Ruby's glaring at her, and Emma knows they've outstayed their welcome.  
  
Regina blinks at her through weighted eyelids.  
  
And Emma slides out of the booth before leaning down and yanking Regina to her feet.  
  
For a second she's worried the former queen will fall - she sways precariously while lazily looking around. She's clearly completely out of it, and it's probably wrong that Emma finds it so adorable.  
  
But then she's managed to find her balance and Emma breathes a sigh of relief, before inexplicably offering her hand to the brunette, who inexplicably takes it.  
  
Regina is like a newborn colt learning to walk, all swaying and stumbling, and occasionally grasping Emma's hand hard as she encounters a difficult piece of sidewalk.  
  
Finally, finally they arrive at Emma's car, and it's a true testament that Regina doesn't even comment, but instead crawls into the passenger seat, flashing Emma in the process.  
  
She falls fast asleep in the three minutes it takes Emma to drive to Mifflin Street.  
  
"Regina?" She shakes her shoulder and Regina's eyes are open instantly.  
  
And she really doesn't want to know why (except she really does).  
  
She pulls Regina out of the car and it's anything but graceful, the intoxicated woman slumping against her.  
  
They stand like that for a moment, Emma trying to get her bearings.  
  
And Regina nuzzles her nose against Emma's throat.  
  
Emma huffs out a sigh, and manages to somehow, she's not quite sure how, lift Regina into her arms.  
  
And really, she's far too light.  
  
Regina instantly finds the crook of Emma's neck once more, offering only a sleepy sigh in response to the fact that Emma is now holding her.  
  
Despite that, as Emma climbs the stairs inside the mansion, Regina's arms instinctively tighten around Emma's neck.  
  
And when Emma tries to place her gently on the bed Regina clutches her tighter.  
  
"I'm not your teddy bear, Regina," she mocks, but she whispers it so quietly that she doubts Regina can hear.  
  
It doesn't take much to persuade her to give up her attempt.  
  
And she settles on the bed, Regina still in her arms, and leans back against the copious amounts of pillows.  
  
Regina is a warm presence above her, and Emma finds her heartbeat slowing as she listens to the deep ins and outs of Regina's breathing.  
  
Fighting to keep her own eyes open, Emma struggles forward, pulling her own boots off, followed by Regina's heels, tossing both haphazardly onto the floor.  
  
Regina whines in the back of her throat at the disturbance, but doesn't waken.  
  
Still Emma can see the tension seeping back into her body, and wishes she couldn't imagine the reasons why.  
  
She leans back once more, gathers Regina more tightly against her chest, and closes her eyes.  
  
"I'm sorry," she whispers into chestnut hair as she drifts to sleep.  
  
Regina's deep slow breathing a distant lullaby.


End file.
